Surgical instrument



Dec. 2, 1941. v. M. RAVEL 2,264,679

SURGICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Oct. 29, 1940 [52202121 M Fave] WMM ,Z W

Patented Dec. 2, 1941 UNITED smres smear ()FFICE Application Oc-tcbcr29, 1940, Serial No. 363,359

' (or. 12s 340) 5 Claims.

This invention pertains to surgical implements and isparticularlydirected to a device for forming suture stitches to closesurgical wounds.

One object of the invention is to provide an instrument for producing aplurality of Wound stitches in one stitching operation, to enableclosing the entire wound in a single stitching op' eration. Pursuant tothis object the instrument comprises a plurality of needles, eachcapable of forming one stitch. The several needles are arranged in arow, spaced apart equidistant, to produce a wound closure with uniformlyarranged stitches.

Another object of the invention is to provide a single instrument forclosing difierent wounds, of different lengths, requiring differentnumbers of stitches, and forming the stitches of a given wound in asingle stitching operation. Pursuant to this object the instrument ofthe invention is adjustable to accommodate more or .less needles inaccordance with the number of stitches required in a given wound.

It follows that the instrument of the present invention, capable ofproducing a plurality of stitches to close a wound in a single stitchingoperation, simplifies the wound closing operation, and enables theformation of an improved wound closure, in less time and with lessdiscomfort to the patient. The instrument of the present invention isadjustable to be accommodated to difierent length wounds, and can bereadily disassembled. The instrument, and its several elements are freefrom crevices, and is accordingly able to be readily cleaned andsterilized.

The instrument of the invention is adapted to produce a novel woundclosure, comprising a plurality of stitches, the several stitches beingproduced by a single suture strand. The result is a wound closure whichlooks the discomfort of prior art wound closures, the stitches of whichare removed more easily, and with less discomfort to the patient.

The various object and advantages of the invention will be more readilyunderstood from the embodiment of the invention shown in theaccompanying drawing, of which Figure l is a perspective View of theinstrument of the invention;

Figure 2 is an elevation partly in section with :7 parts broken away forpurposes of clearness of illustration;

Figure 3 shows a modified form of the needle of the invention;

Figure 4 shows the instrument of the invention in position ready foruse;

Figure 5 is a View of the instrument of the invention in position at onestage in the operation of producing a wound closure;

Figure Gis .a view similar to Figure 5, showing the needle in positionat a later stage in the formation of a closure;

Figure '7 shows the wound closure completed; and

Figure 8 is aperspective view showing the formation of the stitchindetail.

In the drawing the needle base is indicated generally at H and comprisesa plurality of needle supporting members l2 which are detachably joinedtogether'end to end by any suitable attaching means, such as the studsI3. The needle base H may be of any suitable shapeand in the practice ofthe invention shown, it is cylindrical in form so that, when the severalmembers l2 are joined together, it comprises an elongated cylindricalbase.

Each member I2 is adapted to support one or more needles I4 which arefixed to the base by any suitable attaching means, such as the screwthreads IS. The needles project laterally from the side of the needlbase, arranged in a row, and spaced apart along the back, preferablyspaced apart equidistant, as shown in the drawing. The needles M areattached to the several members so positioned that throughout the lengthof the needle base I I, no matter how many members are joined togetherto comprise the base, the needles are spaced apart equidistant from eachother.

This structure, it will be noted, enables the single instrument toproduce a plurality of wound stitches in .a single operation of theinstrument because all needles operate simultaneously with the singlestitching operation of the instrument. Accordingly, under the preferredpractice, the needles are made of equal length and are uniform inconstruction.

The needle base, as described and shown, is attached to the handle I6 bymeans of an intermediate attachment rod which spaces the needle baselaterally away from the handle. The needle base is preferably joined tothe attachment H by means of the stud 13 of the endmost member I? andthe attachment I1 is accordingly equipped with a threaded hole toreceive the stud l3.

The shank l8 of each needle may be straight, as illustrated in Figure 1,or the needles may be provided with curved shanks l8, as illustrated inFigure 3.

Each needle is provided with an eye l9 to receive a suture, the eyebeing located at the end- 29 c the shank, and in accordance with thepreferred practice of the invention, the eye I9 is provided with a slot20, which enables the suture to be removed from the eye without beingdrawn therethrough and without the necessity of cutting the suture. Inthe preferred practice of the invention, the eye comprises a pair oftines 2| spring pressed toward each other, which engage each other inface to face relationship at their ends along the line 22. The tines 2|meet to provide the needle point 30, adapted to be pricked through theskin of the patient to form the stitch.

Now referring to Figure 4 of the drawing, the instrument is employed inthe following manner:

The base member I l is made the desired length by joining as manymembers l2 together as is required. Needles I4 are attached to the basemember I l in the manner illustrated in Figure 4, and the suture 23 isthreaded through the eyes of the several needles. The instrument is nowready to form the wound closing stitch. Assuming that the wound 24 is tobe stitched, the instrument is positioned alongside the wound in theposition illustrated in Figure 4. The instrument is then in position forits needles M to be projected through the wound carrying with it thesuture 23. As illustrated in Figure 5, each needle it carries with it abight 25 of the suture, and the bights project out of the wound togetherwith the points 30 of the needles. ends 26 and 2! are now ready to bejoined, but before they are tied one end 26 is threaded through each ofthe bights 25 in succession of the respective stitches formed by therespective needles. See Figure 6. The ends 26 and 21 are now knotted at28 to complete the wound stitching. The instrument is thereuponretracted from the wound and the several bights 25 are slid out frombetween th tines 2| of the eyes l9, through the slots 20.

The accompanying disclosure constitutes one preferred embodiment of theinvention. A number of modifications will occur to those skilled in Thesuture the art which will not depart from the spirit of the invention,the scope of the invention being determined by the scope of theaccompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A wound stitching device comprising, a handle, a needle base carriedby the handle, and a needle attached to one end to the base and havingat its opposite end an eye, a piercing point in axial alinement with andlocated at the outer extremity of the eye and an opening leading outwardfrom the eye through the piercing point.

2. A wound stitching device comprising, a handle, a needle base attachedto the handle, and a plurality of needles attached to the needle basedisposed longitudinally thereof and spaced apart equidistant, eachneedle having at one end an eye, a piercing point in axial alinementwith and located at the outer extremity of the eye and an openingleading outward from the eye through the piercing point.

3. A wound stitching device comprising, a handle, a needle base attachedto the handle, a plurality of needles attached to the needle basedisposed longitudinally thereof and spaced apart equidistant, eachneedle having an eye at its outer end, a piercing point at the outerextremity of the eye and an opening extending outward from the eye andthrough the piercing point to permit escape of the suture therethrough.

4. A wound stitching device comprising, a needle including a shank and apoint, the point comprising a pair of tines side by side and bowed toprovide an eye, the said tines meeting at their ends to provide apiercing point.

5. A surgical needle comprising a shank having an end portion tapered toa point and provided with an eye lying adjacent to but in rear of theextremity of the point, and a cleft extending from the outer end of theeye through the extremity of the point in the line of the longitudinalaxis of the needle.

VINCENT MARVIN RAVEL.

